A Promise of Friendship
by CherrySugarCube
Summary: A story of James and Jessie's first meeting and the events after that. They become friends and make a promise that will last a lifetime. This is a story different from the way they meet in the original series.
1. Seashell Prince

**Dedicated to my dear friend heart-chan. Merry Christmas and lotsa hugs and luv ~ ! Hope you'll like this. (:  
**

**~ CherrySugarCube  
**

* * *

The sea was calm today. The water surface sparkled beautifully in the sunlight. It was nicely peaceful and quiet. There were no people near the seashore. Only a young boy, named James, who was sitting on a cliff. He was watching the waves and listening to his Pokémon Growlithe – which he preferred to call Growlie – barking and playing around in the water near the shore.

To James this day wasn't any different from the other days. Today he just happened to be full of Jessiebelle's irritating behavior and so he had decided to come to the seashore. He couldn't have ever participated that this day was like no other, that this day would change his whole life, that today he would meet a person whom he would spend the rest of his life with. A person who would change his life once and for all. James had just made a simple decision to come here and he never once had happened to think about the consequences.

He wasn't in the playing mood so he just watched his Pokémon Growlie playing in the sand. That Pokémon was his only friend and only one whom he could play with. James was born into a very rich family and although he had quite a few servants and personal assistants around him every day, he was very lonely. He felt comfortable only with Growlie. He didn't want to complain because Growlie was a loyal friend and a fine Pokémon but yet still he wanted to have a real friend, meaning a human friend. Growlie couldn't talk and James couldn't always be sure if Growlie even understood what he said to it. But James considered himself lucky for having Growlie as his Pokémon. It was very loyal and fearless creature and it always defended him and listened to him – no matter did it or did it not understand him.

James sighed quietly. He knew he couldn't spend much time here since his parents and Jessiebelle expected him to return before sundown. But James wished that he could have stayed there longer. He had no courage or nerves to say to his parents that he couldn't stand Jessiebelle whom they wanted him to marry. Only because James happened to be a little shy, submissive and maybe even too nice for his own good and because Jessiebelle had managed to make such a good impression on James's parents, they wanted James and Jessiebelle to get married. James's parents thought that Jessiebelle was a nice, kind-hearted, sweet, well-behaving girl but Jessiebelle was far from that. She indeed looked very pretty and nice but James had discovered her true personality a long time ago. She was bossy, arrogant, stubborn, sardonic and awfully wicked. She was sometimes very mean to James and she often judged everything James did and left undone. Nothing was good enough for her. James wasn't good enough. Everything he did was wrong or stupid or could be done better. And James's parents thought that they would make a wonderful pair.

Jessiebelle was the reason for James to be there on the cliff at the moment. He had left from his family's mansion to get away from Jessiebelle. This was a place where he could relax and clear his thoughts. After that he could go back and hope that Jessiebelle had already gone to bed or come up with something else to do than just bully and order him around.  
But of course, with James's fortune, that was far too much to wish.

"Oh, James! There you are! I've been looking for you", shouted Jessiebelle's bright voice somewhere below.

James desperately wanted to run away. But he couldn't since Jessiebelle had already seen him and was now climbing to the cliff.

"What are you doing here, James?" she asked. "I thought your parents told you not to come to the shore by yourself. It's too dangerous, they say."

"But I have Growlie here with me", James replied, pointing at the Pokémon that was running around in the water.

Jessiebelle crossed her arms and said knowledgeably: "Yes, but could Growlie do anything if you fell off this cliff?"

"Sure", James replied confidently. "He'd save me. I know he would."

"You dummy! Growlie isn't a water-Pokémon. It couldn't save you from the sea. I bet it can't even swim."

"Of course he can swim", James said immediately, being sure of that he was right and Jessiebelle was wrong.

Jessiebelle shrugged. "I don't know about that… But if I were you, I wouldn't expect too much from Growlie", she said. "It doesn't look particularly smart…"

James disagreed strongly. But he didn't say it to Jessiebelle. The girl would only get mad – for nothing.

"Hey, James", Jessiebelle said suddenly, her voice brightening again. About that James knew that she had gotten some idea and that… Well, James very seldom liked her ideas.

"Since we're here, we could play something", the girl suggested. "Wouldn't that be nice?" She made a charming smile and tossed her red hair over her shoulder.

James hated playing with Jessiebelle. There were stupid rules in Jessiebelle's games and they changed every time she wanted them to. It was just that James didn't have another choice but to agree to play with her since otherwise Jessiebelle would tell his parents and they would tell him to play with her anyway.

"Fine…" he muttered. "What shall we play?"

Jessiebelle looked like she would have been considering the options for a while but James knew that she had already decided.

"I'd like to play a princess", she said. "You can be my prince. I want you to collect things for me. Is that okay with you, James?"

James nodded submissively, knowing that Jessiebelle didn't even want to know his real opinion. She was just acting to be polite.

"First… I'd like you to bring me some seashells", Jessiebelle said. "Understood?"

James nodded again and left for the shore to find some. What kind of prince had to do this kind of stuff…? In his opinion this was more like what a servant would have done.

James whistled. Growlie ran to him. He told it to look for some seashells with him. Growlie started to run around, digging holes into the sand. James watched it running around, wanting to forget about Jessiebelle who wouldn't leave him alone.

"Hey, you there", someone called him nearby.

James turned towards the stranger who had called him. It was a girl – girl who looked a lot like Jessiebelle. The girl's face was very similar to Jessiebelle's but instead of red hair this girl had pink hair and it wasn't as curly as Jessiebelle's was.

"You mean me…?" James asked the girl, pointing at himself.

"Do you see anyone else here somewhere nearby?" the girl replied cheekily.

James wasn't sure if he liked this girl at all. She reminded him far too much of Jessiebelle. She didn't only look like her but was almost as cocky as she was.

"My name is James", James said to her politely completely ignoring the girl's snide way of speaking. All his life he had been taught to handle situations like this. Never lose your temper or reply insolently, remember always to be polite and kind. Never speak if you aren't spoken to. Always reply to the question and say nothing more. Never lie but never tell your real opinion on the matter if it isn't a positive one.

The girl seemed to be a little surprised by James's polite and sincere behavior but she recovered quickly. She then decided to make it clear that she didn't lack of manners either.

"Nice to meet you, James", she said. "I'm Jessie."

"That's a pretty name", James commented, smiling a little. The girl's name reminded him even more of Jessiebelle but James decided not to let it disturb himself. This girl wasn't Jessiebelle. This girl didn't seem like she always wanted to please everyone around her. Jessiebelle did. She wanted to please everyone excluding James whom she was always ordering around.

"Thanks", the girl, Jessie, said to James's compliment. "I was wondering if you could keep me company… Or are you busy at the moment…?"

"I'm looking for some seashells with my Growlithe", James explained.

Jessie looked at Growlie. "An interesting Pokémon…" she said. "Do you have any other Pokémon?"

"No, I don't", James replied. "Growlie is my only Pokémon."

"You call it Growlie…?"

"Yes, I do. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, not at all", Jessie said, shrugging. "Just pointed out that you have come up with a name for it. Do you like Pokémon?"

"Yes, I do. Do you?"

"Yes. I'd like to have some. It would be cool to become a Pokémon trainer, don't you think?"

James thought about that for a couple of seconds. He had always been happy to have Growlie but now that Jessie mentioned it, he started to think that it would be nice to have other Pokémon, too. To become a Pokémon trainer…

"Yes, it would be cool", he said. "How many Pokémon are there altogether?"

"I don't know much about Pokémon but quite a few, I guess…" Jessie said. "Imagine if one person could catch them all! Oh, by the way… Why are you collecting seashells?"

James scratched his head. "I was supposed to collect some for my… my… For one girl…" he muttered. "And so far, I haven't actually found any..."

Jessie looked at him, obviously wondering what James had intended to say at first. But James had decided not to refer to Jessiebelle with a word _friend_.

"A girl…" Jessie pondered. She drew her own conclusion. "That's very sweet of you, James. I'm sure she'll be happy."

James blushed a little, scratching his neck, uttering a nervous laughter. "Ah, this is just one silly game we had…" he muttered.

Jessie grinned, saying: "I could help you with looking for those seashells, if you like."

"Really?" James asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, why not", Jessie replied.

"Thank you very much", James said, smiling delightedly. "That's so kind of you."

"Aw, that's just nothing", Jessie said and swept her hand in the air as if to put James's thanks aside. "Do you think I could join your game?" she asked.

"Sure if you help me to collect those seashells", James said. "We can go to Jessiebelle and ask if you can play with us."

* * *

After collecting some seashells James led Jessie to the cliff to meet Jessiebelle. Growlie came with them, running around James and sniffing at Jessie.

"James!" Jessiebelle shouted delightedly immediately after seeing the boy coming. "What took you so long?" Then she saw Jessie and her expression changed. She crossed her arms and glared at her judgingly.

"James, who is that girl?" she asked.

"Jessiebelle, this is Jessie", James introduced the girls to each other. "Jessie, this is Jessiebelle."

The girls smiled at each other but Jessiebelle's smile wasn't warm or welcoming. It was sarcastic.

"We were wondering if Jessie could play with us today", James said, trying to make Jessie to ignore Jessiebelle's rejecting behavior.

"Oh, is that so?" Jessiebelle asked, still glaring at Jessie.

"Yes, so… Is it okay with you, Jessiebelle…?" James asked.

"Of course", Jessiebelle replied. "Why wouldn't it be? Now, show me the seashells you collected."

James handed his seashells to Jessiebelle who took them and looked at them closely for a moment.

"Hmm… Not bad, James", she said.

She threw the seashells into the sea, turning towards Jessie.

"Now, show me what you've collected", she said.

Jessie showed hers to Jessiebelle who glared at the seashells just as mockingly she had been glaring at Jessie.

"All of them are pretty ugly…" she said. "Impressive how you managed to find all the ugliest ones of the entire seashore." Her voice was full of sarcasm which she didn't bother to hide.

Jessie threw the seashells to the ground, puffing. "What's wrong with the seashells I collected?" she snapped. "They're no different from the ones James collected! And why did you throw them away? First you told James to collect them and then you just threw them away! What's the point of that?"

"Stop yelling at me!" Jessiebelle snapped back at Jessie. "I'm the princess of this game! I decide about the rules!"

"Your game stinks!" Jessie mocked. "And so do the rules! And so do you!"

That was just too much for Jessiebelle to bear. She grabbed Jessie's hair and pulled roughly. Jessie screamed and tried to push her away. James didn't know what to do. He stood back and tried to stay out of the way – as usual.

Jessie managed to grip Jessiebelle's wrist. She pushed her roughly and let go of. Jessiebelle stumbled on the edge of the cliff and fell off backwards. Jessie and James couldn't do anything but watch her falling into the water below. James turned to look at Jessie, absolutely horrified of what she had done. Even Jessie herself seemed to be a bit shocked.

"Why did you push her?" James cried in panic. "She can't swim!"

"I… It was an accident…" Jessie replied quickly, looking guilty and apologetic.

"Sure didn't look like it…" James muttered under his breath.

"Be quiet and do something to save her!" Jessie snapped at him.

James tore his hair with his hands. He was in panic and couldn't think clearly. "This is terrible! What can I do? What can I do…?"

Jessie slapped him in the face. "Stop acting stupid!" she yelled at him. "You've got a Pokémon! Tell your Growlithe to save her!"

"Oh, yes! You're right…" James muttered feeling embarrassed for that _he_ hadn't come up with that. He turned to Growlie. "Growlie, help Jessiebelle!" he told it.

Growlie seemed to understand James's command. It jumped off the cliff and dove into the water. James and Jessie followed the situation from the top of the cliff.

"Why did you have to push her?" James asked Jessie.

"It was an accident…" Jessie replied. "And besides… _She_ attacked _me_ first…"

After a short moment of silence Growlie appeared into their sight, dragging unconscious Jessiebelle towards the seashore. James and Jessie ran to them. James grabbed Jessiebelle and pulled her to the sand.

"Is she alive…?" the boy asked, looking at Jessie to get some help from her.

"She is", Jessie replied, crouching down to Jessiebelle. She slapped her face several times to wake her up.

"You're hurting her…" James said.

"Shut up", Jessie retorted.

Jessiebelle started to wake up. She opened her eyes and couched. Jessie stood back.

"What happened…?" Jessiebelle asked, still couching.

"You fell and Growlie saved you…" James explained.

"So it _can _swim…" Jessiebelle muttered, looking at Growlie and blinking her eyes. "You can thank it for me, James."

James seemed to relax. He smiled a little.

"I want to go home", Jessiebelle then announced. She stood up, gave Jessie a mean glare and turned to James. "Let's leave."

James glanced at Jessie once before following Jessiebelle and telling Growlie that they were leaving now. He hoped that he would meet Jessie again even though their first meeting hadn't gone so well. And he also hoped that his parents wouldn't see Jessiebelle's wet clothes and ask what had happened to her. He didn't want his parents to know that he had been at the seashore without permission. If they knew they would tell him not to go there ever again.

* * *

"James! James! Where are you, James?"

James crouched down behind a bush in the garden that surrounded his family's huge mansion. He heard Jessiebelle shouting his name but he didn't want her to find him. Jessiebelle had been looking for him for whole morning and James had managed to keep hiding from her. He believed that Jessiebelle would soon give up if he didn't show up.

"Jessiebelle, what's wrong?" James heard his mother asking. He peeked out a little to see Jessiebelle and his mother from behind the bush.

"I've been looking for James and I just can't find him", Jessiebelle replied to James's mother. "We've played hide and seek together several times and he isn't even good at hiding… Where could he be?"

"He should show up soon", James's mother said. "His piano lesson is about to start."

"Sounds great!" Jessiebelle said enthusiastically. "Can I be there? I'd really like to hear James playing piano!"

James shook his head to himself. He didn't want Jessiebelle to come to his piano lesson. That girl wouldn't ever let him be…

James's mother chuckled. "James is pretty shy", she said. "But I guess he'll let you be there if you ask nicely."

Jessiebelle smiled like an angel. "I'm glad", she said happily.

James didn't really understand why Jessiebelle always managed to win over his parents. She handled them better than James ever could. And then she also bullied James whenever she got a chance. She was so mean, pretending to be a nice girl.

"Shall we go in now?" James's mother asked Jessiebelle. "Perhaps James is already there."

Jessiebelle nodded. James's mother offered her hand to her and the redhead took it. They were just about to leave hand in hand and James was just about to come out of his hiding place and come up with some plan so that he didn't have to go to his piano lesson today. But somehow he managed to stumble and fall – right into the bush.

It was a rose bush. The thorns ripped his clothes and skin. He couldn't help himself shrieking out loud. His mother and Jessiebelle heard him and turned around to see what had happened.

"James!"

"Hi mom… Hi Jessiebelle…" James muttered, trying to stand back up.

"James, what on earth are you doing?" asked his mother, glaring at his ripped clothes.

"I fell…" James muttered, trying to straighten his torn outfit.

"I can see that, you silly boy", his mother said. "But what were you doing there? You are supposed to be on your piano lesson in a minute."

"I was just about to go there…"

"No excuses, James", his mother reproached. "Go inside and get changed and be sure that you'll be with your tutor when the lesson starts. Is this clear, James?"

"Yes, mother…" James muttered submissively, passing by his mother and Jessiebelle, going back inside.

* * *

After a few minutes he was downstairs in a room that they often used when he needed to practice playing piano or violin. James's parents wanted their son to play both instruments. James didn't particularly like either of them but unfortunately they never listened to his opinion on any matter… Jessiebelle was very good example of that. James hadn't ever actually said that he didn't want to marry her and that he didn't even like her. And his parents hadn't even asked his opinion. They just wanted him to marry a beautiful, sweet, charming and irreproachable girl – and that was exactly what Jessiebelle was. Probably the thought of that James didn't want to marry her hadn't ever even crossed his parents' minds.

But now James had absolutely no time to think about that. He had to impress, not only his tutor, but also his mother and Jessiebelle who were now listening to him playing the shining white grand piano that had been placed in the middle of the big, bright room.

James tried his best – he always did. But it never seemed to be enough.

"Young Master James, how many times do I have to tell you to play with feeling?" his tutor asked impatiently when he was playing one song that his tutor had been trying to teach him to play perfectly for quite a long time.

"I'm sorry", James replied, trying to add more feeling.

"That's better…" his tutor said but didn't really seem any happier with the result.

James could play the song completely without using the sheets but he just didn't understand why his playing wasn't good enough in his tutor's opinion. He tried to play with feeling but he kept constantly losing his focusing since he couldn't stop thinking about that girl he had met yesterday. And what that girl had said about that she wanted to be a Pokémon trainer.

A Pokémon trainer. Train Pokémon all day long, travel around the world, meet new people and find new exciting Pokémon and the best of all: to catch them all.

He would become famous if he became a Pokémon trainer. He could do the things he wanted, take care of his Pokémon and go wherever he wanted, experience new adventures every day and so and so on… His life was so boring and numb here. Jessiebelle was too bossy and his parents didn't understand anything. They never asked what_ he_ wanted to do. It was their idea that he had to play piano and violin and marry Jessiebelle… Of course their wedding wouldn't be arranged in many years. They would both have to turn eighteen before getting married. But just the thought of marrying Jessiebelle made James feel uncomfortable. He didn't want to have a future like that.

"Young Master, you have completely lost the feeling!" his tutor suddenly shouted at him so loudly that the big room made the shout sound even louder.

James startled and accidentally played ugly discord that also sounded much louder than it actually was in this big room when everyone else was quiet.

"Young Master!" his tutor said warningly.

James stood up and quickly bowed to his tutor as an apology. "I'm sorry", he said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"Young Master James, could you please try to focus?" his tutor asked, obviously trying not to lose his temper.

"Yes, of course", James replied immediately. "I'll try again…"

He turned back to his piano, accidentally hitting his knee against the edge of the piano chair. He hissed, grabbing his aching knee. The piano chair had fallen to the floor and made an awful, ear-deafening clank. James quickly covered his ears.

"Young Master James, what are you doing?" his tutor yelled at him.

"I'm sorry!" James shrieked in panic.

He heard Jessiebelle giggling quietly. "Oh, James… You're so silly…" he heard her muttering.

James wanted to disappear. He felt so ashamed.

"Try again and lift that up!" his tutor told him, pointing at the fallen chair.

James felt the tears of shame slowly filling his eyes. He tried to hide his face. "No…" he muttered silently.

"What did you say, Young Master?" his tutor asked.

"I said no", James replied, now using a louder tone of voice.

"James, try again", his mother said to him.

"No!" James shouted. "I won't try again! I don't want to!"

"James, don't talk like that", his mother reproached him. "Just try again."

"No! I don't want to!" James kept on arguing. "I don't want to play piano! I don't want to play that song! Just let me be, will you!"

He turned around and ran out of the room, trying to fight against the tears.

* * *

He went to the seashore again. The sea was nicely quiet this day too but yet it wasn't enough to calm James down. He burst out crying. He sat down onto a rock and buried his face in his hands, sobbing loudly. There was no-one nearby to hear him so it didn't matter if he did cry. He couldn't help himself crying, though no-one expected him, a 10-year-old boy, to act like that.

"Hey… Are you okay…?" he suddenly heard someone asking right behind him.

He startled and quickly stood up, wiping his tears away.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to scare you, James…"

James lifted his gaze up to see who had come to him. It was that girl whom he had met yesterday. Jessie.

"What's wrong?" Jessie asked him.

"Nothing's wrong…" James replied, sniffing.

"Hey, James, I'm not stupid", Jessie said to him. "I can tell you that there's something wrong with you. What is it?"

James looked down at the sand on the ground. "It's just that… that I don't have what it takes to be a good… a good… I don't know… I guess I'm just not good enough…"

"What do you mean?" Jessie asked.

"I can't play piano… I don't like Jessiebelle and she doesn't like me… I'm not good enough for her and my parents don't get it…" James sighed. "I can't do anything right…"

"Don't say that", Jessie said to him encouragingly. "I think you're a nice person."

"You… do…?"

"Sure", Jessie replied, smiling kindly.

James looked at her and almost smiled back, feeling relieved. At least someone thought that he was a good person.

"Thank you. Jessie."

"Oh, that's absolutely nothing", Jessie replied carelessly. "That's just what I think. I don't like that Jessiebelle either. I think she's pretty selfish. Why are you hanging out with her anyway if you guys don't even like each other?"

"Well… I don't _hate_ her…" James said. "But… she's just sometimes very… frustrating… And she _does like_ me. Well… at least she probably thinks that I'm fun to bully…"

Jessie snorted and walked to James. She slammed him in the back and said: "James, you shouldn't let her be so bossy. Be a man! It appears that she can order you around freely because you don't fight back. Do you understand?"

James winced because his back hurt. "Uh-huh…"

"Good", Jessie stated. "Next time she tries to be bossy you'll just keep your head calm and don't give up so easily."

"But how can I do that…?" James asked.

"Just tell her that you are not his toy and you're not someone to play with", Jessie said.

"Okay…" James muttered insecurely. "And what if she doesn't believe me…?"

"Then you'll punch her and tell her that she doesn't even look as good as she thinks she does!" Jessie said and the tone of her voice was slowly growing louder when she spoke. She sounded almost exultant.

"But… I can't punch a girl…" James refused. "I haven't ever even punched _anyone_…"

Jessie blinked her blue eyes. "You haven't…?"

"No… Never."

Jessie sighed, saying: "I should have known…"

James didn't quite understand what that meant but he didn't bother to ask.

"Well… try to punch me then", the pink-haired girl suggested.

"But… I can't punch _you_… You're a girl, too…" James said, taking a few steps back.

"Yeah, I know I'm a girl", she said. "And so what? Don't be such a coward. C'mon, I'm ready. Give it a go." The girl lifted his fists up to defend herself.

James gulped. This wasn't a good idea… He slowly lifted his fists up, hesitating. He decided not to punch hard. Just a light touch…

He pushed his fist forward. He wasn't going to punch Jessie for real but it didn't matter since Jessie was a lot faster than he was. She grabbed his wrist, twisted it and pushed him so hard that he fell to the ground.

"Ouch… That hurt…!" James whined, sitting on the ground.

Jessie scratched her head, obviously wondering what to do next. "Ahem… I didn't mean to be so harsh…" she muttered apologetically.

James sighed wearily. "It's no use…" he muttered, feeling embarrassed and powerless at the same time.

"James… " Jessie began carefully. "I've got to say that I feel sorry for you. You're a spoiled brat and you can't do anything on your own. But I understand all that very well. You've grown in a rich family, lived in a big, beautiful mansion, surrounded by servants and assistants and everything has always been done for you."

James was still sitting on the ground. He looked down, feeling ashamed. Something in the way Jessie had said that all had made him felt ashamed. He sighed again. "Sounds familiar…"

Jessie moved awkwardly. "I… I didn't mean it like that…" she said quickly. "James, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. You're very sweet person – and very kind. Almost too kind for you own good…"

James raised his gaze up at Jessie. "You… think so…?" he asked.

Jessie tilted her head so that her pink hair swayed. "That's how I see it", she said. "But don't worry about it, James. It isn't that bad thing…" She didn't dare to say it to James but in her opinion James's sweet and kind personality was just the thing that made her like him. James was very sympathetic and although he seemed to be very naive, Jessie still liked everything about him.

She offered her hand to him to help him back on his feet. James grabbed it, smiling a little. Jessie smiled back at him.

They watched each other in the eyes for a long time, still holding hands. Then Jessie realized that perhaps it was okay to let go of James's hand already. She let go, being a bit unwilling to do so, though. James turned his gaze away and pulled his hand back, too. There was a long, deep silence. The only sounds they could hear were the sound of the wind and the sound of waves. Some seagull shrieked. But regardless of all the voices of the nature, there was a silence between the two of them – an awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to say.

"Um… How is Growlie doing, by the way?" asked Jessie then interrupting the long silence.

"Oh, fine, I guess", James replied, picking a stick up from the ground. He started drawing circles and abstract lines in the sand with it.

"You guess…?" Jessie echoed.

"Yeah… I haven't actually had enough time to go see him today", James replied. "But I'm sure someone has let him out to play in our garden. Would you like to go see him now?"

"I'd love to", Jessie replied, seeming to be delighted because of the question.

"Very well, we can go see him", James said. "Do you have any Pokémon on your own?" he asked.

"No, unfortunately I don't…" Jessie replied. "I'd like to capture some but for that I need to have at least one Pokémon already."

"Do you know how to capture Pokémon?" James asked, getting excited.

"Well… Yes, in theory…" Jessie replied. "But I've never captured any… I've never even tried it."

"We could try it sometime", James said. "We could become Pokémon trainers together."

Jessie seemed to start thinking about that. Her face brightened and her eyes started to glisten. "I've always wanted to become a Pokémon trainer", she said. "Would you help me to become one?"

"Gladly", James replied. "If you help me."

"Sure. We can become partners!"

"Sounds great", James said, smiling to himself. "That's a promise then, isn't it? We'll become Pokémon trainers together. Partners. Right?"

Jessie looked him in the eyes, having a confident look on her face. "That's a promise", she said, shaking James's hand.

James nodded and echoed: "That's a promise."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Rose Petals and Dresses

**I'm back with another chapter of this story. I don't have much to say about it... ;D I just hope you all enjoy it. (: **

**Until the next time! Looking forward to it. (: **

**Best wishes**  
**~ CherrySugarCube**

* * *

James had been right about Growlie. It was feeling all right and some of James's assistants had let it out to play. Growlie ran to James immediately when it saw him coming. Pokémon didn't speak like humans did. Only a few Pokémon were known to be able to speak like humans and James hadn't seen any of those during his entire life. Most of the Pokémon could only repeat their own name. And so did Growlie. But still James knew that it had come to say hello to him.

Growlie sniffled at Jessie and then let her touch itself. It obviously recognized her from yesterday.

"He likes you", James said to Jessie who was now stroking Growlie's orange fur.

"He is cute", Jessie said, smiling at Growlie who could have purred delightedly if it had been a cat instead of being a dog-type Pokémon.

Jessie and James walked side by side in the huge, green garden that was full of numerous different kinds of flowers. Jessie could name only a few of them.

"What a beautiful garden you have", she said to James.

James shrugged. "It's nice. Though, it's a bit pity that I can't enjoy myself here too much. I need to study and play piano and violin…" he said. "My parents have designed this garden. But the roses were my idea." James pointed at the rose bushes. There were only a few of them but they were all very beautiful looking. And James seemed to be very proud of them. He crouched down to Growlie and stroked its fur gently.

Jessie crouched down, too. She wanted to smell the roses. They looked so pretty that she bet they smelled lovely. And they did. She touched one of the petals very lightly. It felt extremely soft and silky.

"These are very pretty", she said to James.

James smiled, taking Growlie onto his lap.

"So… Do you have any other hobbies besides playing piano and violin?" the girl asked, sitting opposite to him on the garden grass.

"Well… I collect corks…" was James's answer.

"Oh, really?" Jessie asked, seeming to be amazed.

"Yes… I know it's pretty weird… And my parents don't know about it…" James said. "They would probably tell me not to collect trash if they knew…"

"No, it isn't weird", Jessie said. "I just didn't think that a rich boy like you would have a hobby like that. It sounds more like something what an ordinary girl like me would do. Though, I don't collect corks."

"Oh, I see…" James replied. "But Jessie, I have to ask you not to tell Jessiebelle or my parents about this. Can you promise me you won't tell?"

"I promise I won't", Jessie said. "Your secret is safe with me." She made a small, mischievous grin.

Somehow James felt excited about that he could share his secret with someone. The thought of it made him grin back at Jessie. Now he had a common secret with someone else and it felt great and gave him an awesome sense of power to know something that the others didn't. It was almost like they had been secret allies with Jessie.

The two of them sat there next to the rose bushes. James kept stroking Growlie while Jessie told him something about herself. She said that her family was pretty poor and her only family member was actually her mother. Jessie adored her mother very much and liked the food she cooked and the stories she told her. James couldn't help himself envying Jessie a little. His mother never cooked herself. She very seldom told James any stories. To hear some stories James had to read them to himself. His mother always told him that it was better like that since he learned to read more fluently by reading himself and not just listening to someone else reading.

Now that James thought of it, he realized that his parents spend very little time with him. They were always buying him stuff – clothes and so on. But what he really wanted from them was their time and presence. But he didn't get it.

Jessie on the other hand was always spending time with her mother. She didn't have any real friends so she played alone – or with her mother.

They both soon noticed that they were very different from each other but they had a common interest in training Pokémon. And they both were quite lonely.

"I think I should be going already", Jessie said, glancing up at the sky. "It's getting late. My mom will be worried."

James didn't know how long they had been sitting there but Jessie was probably right. He took one rose from the bush and handed it to her. "Here, I want to give this to you", he said.

Jessie stared at the red rose and then at James. "But… I can't take it…" she said.

"Sure you can take it", James replied still offering the rose to Jessie. "I want you to have this."

After a short moment of hesitation, Jessie finally took the rose from James. "Fine", she said. "I'll give it to my mom. She'll be very happy."

James smiled. "And tell her greetings from me."

"I will", Jessie replied. She took another rose from the bush, watching carefully not to touch the thorns. She placed it gingerly in James's hair, smiling at him.

James smiled back, blushing lightly. He turned his gaze shyly away. Growlie started licking his face. James pushed it gently away and stood up. Jessie followed his example and stood up, too. They did nothing for a while but just kept looking at each other. Growlie ran around their feet, trying to get their attention.

Then Growlie started to bark. That caught James's attention. He turned his gaze away from Jessie to see what Growlie was barking at. He was not happy to see that it was Jessiebelle.

"James! I've been looking for you!" the redhead huffed. "You haven't been _here_ all this time, have you now?"

"No, I…"

"And what are _you_ doing here?" Jessiebelle ask Jessie, not bothering to listen to James's reply. "No-one invited you here."

"James did", Jessie replied.

"No, I'm sure he didn't", Jessiebelle said. "This must be some kind of mistake. You are not allowed to be here so please leave."

"I was just about to", Jessie replied in an ice cold manner. She took a step forward but Jessiebelle stepped in her way.

"And you can leave that here", she said to her, pointing at the rose that Jessie was holding in her hand.

"This is a gift", Jessie said to Jessiebelle, obviously having no intention of leaving the rose behind now that James had given it to her.

"Liar", Jessiebelle accused. "You stole it from the bush, didn't you? Just admit it."

"I'm not a liar!" Jessie shouted at the redhead. "And I don't steal!"

"You're a liar and a thief! Just give it back and leave!" Jessiebelle shouted back.

James stepped in between the two girls. "Please don't fight", he said. "You don't have to…"

"Oh, James, be quiet", Jessiebelle retorted, pushing him aside. She turned back to Jessie. "You heard what I said. Give the rose back and get out of here."

"James, tell her that I didn't steal it", Jessie said, glaring angrily at Jessiebelle.

James looked at Jessiebelle. "She is telling you the truth", he said to her. "Jessie didn't steal it. I gave it to her."

Jessiebelle gasped and looked at James like he had just landed down from the sky in front of her. "What? No… You just didn't do that, did you?"

"I did", James said. "She can keep it."

Jessiebelle looked almost murderous when she now glared at Jessie. "But… But that's not fair, James! You can't just…"

"Why not?" James asked. "The roses are mine anyway."

"But you can't give them to _her_! You don't even know her! James,_ I_ am your girlfriend!"

Everyone fell silent – even Jessiebelle. Though, she was still glaring at Jessie – and occasionally at James, too.

"Um… Is that true…?" Jessie asked timidly.

"Of course it is", Jessiebelle immediately replied. "I wouldn't lie."

Jessie frowned, thinking that Jessiebelle _might_ actually lie. It was quite… possible. Very likely, actually.

"Well… I need to leave now", Jessie said anyway. She just wanted to go home and forget about this awkward incident and Jessiebelle. At the moment she didn't even care to know if Jessiebelle was lying. But if she wasn't and was telling her the truth… then Jessie couldn't understand why James wanted to have a girlfriend like Jessiebelle. It didn't make any sense. And James hadn't even mentioned about Jessiebelle being his girlfriend before this…

"Jessie, wait…" James said to her but Jessie was already going. She didn't stop.

James had just wanted to ask when they could meet again. And… somehow he now had a feeling that Jessie didn't want to come back for a while…

* * *

The following day wasn't any better. James was heading for his room after his violin lesson when something caught his eye. He was passing by Jessiebelle's room when he saw something in there. The door was left open.

James knew he wasn't allowed to enter anyone's room without permission but he decided quickly to take a closer look. It wouldn't hurt anyone.

There were two dresses hanging down from a hanger, placed in the middle of the room as if to be there to catch everyone's attention. James looked closer at the dresses. One of them was red – almost as red as Jessiebelle's curly hair – and the other one was pink and reminded him of one specific girl. However, James couldn't recall seeing those two dresses ever before so he concluded that they had to be new ones. But what was the occasion? Why did Jessiebelle need two new dresses?

James slightly touched the silky textile of the pink dress. It felt so smooth against his skin that he started to wonder how it would feel like to wear it. It was no wonder that Jessiebelle loved dresses so much…

James knew that he wasn't allowed to do so but he took the pink dress off the hanger and carried it to the large mirror that was standing in the corner. He hung the dress in front of himself, looking at his own reflection in the mirror. In his opinion the dress wouldn't actually have looked bad on him… But he didn't dare to try it on although he wanted to…

"James, what are you doing?" asked Jessiebelle's voice so suddenly that James startled and accidentally dropped the dress onto the floor.

"I… I was just…" he muttered in panic, quickly picking the dress up.

Jessiebelle walked to him and took the dress from him, placing it back to the hanger. "You are not allowed to be here, James", she then said to the boy who tried not to look as embarrassed as he felt.

"I'm sorry…" James said, moving anxiously. "I really didn't mean to…"

Jessiebelle swept her hand in the air to make James be quiet. "Never mind… Now that you're here and you've seen my new dresses… Tell me what you think about them", she said.

James gulped. "Um… They're nice…"

"Which one you prefer?" Jessiebelle asked. "Which one I should wear?"

"Um… For what…?"

"For our first dancing lesson", Jessiebelle replied. "What else, you dummy?"

"What dancing lesson…?" James asked. He hadn't been informed of any dancing lessons.

"Yesterday your parents and I were talking", Jessiebelle explained. "I asked them if you could dance and they told me you can't. So I suggested that maybe we should start practicing together so that you'll learn. And they agreed with me. We will have our first lesson today after lunch. Are you as excited as I am?"

Jessiebelle's eyes were glistening due the happiness she felt but James had his doubts. At first: he couldn't dance. Well, he could always _learn_ to dance but he… He didn't even want to. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of everyone – once again. And second: to dance with Jessiebelle… No way. James was sure of that Jessiebelle wouldn't have enough patience to practice dancing with him. James was a slow learner and his tutors often reminded him of that fact. James's tutors were having hard time remaining calm and not losing their temper with him. James didn't think that Jessiebelle's patience would last any longer than theirs.

"So, which one do you prefer?" Jessiebelle asked again, ignoring James's non-excited reaction. "The pink or the red one?"

"The pink one…" James replied.

"Mm, I see", Jessiebelle stated. "You seemed to like it very much. Based on how you looked like, standing there in front of the mirror a moment ago, I could swear that _you_ wanted to wear it yourself." She giggled.

James blushed, trying to hide his face. He assumed that Jessiebelle was kidding and so he didn't even bother to ask if the girl would let him wear it for real. And his parents wouldn't have let him. They wanted him to wear a suit.

"Fine then", Jessiebelle said. "I'll wear the pink one. Your parents appear to have a good sense of fashion. They bought me these dresses. Too bad that you aren't that fashionable… You know, we need to do something about that, James."

James didn't say anything but he was strongly against that suggestion. He didn't want Jessiebelle to tell him what to wear or how to put his hair. She was way too bossy anyway. It wouldn't have been fair if she had told him how to look like as well.

"James, Jessiebelle, here you two are", said James's mother who entered the room, smiling merrily. "Jessiebelle, have you already tried your dresses on?"

"Not yet, ma'am", Jessiebelle replied. "But they do look very good, don't they now, James?"

"Yes, they do…"

"We will soon be eating lunch", James's mother said. "After that you two will get yourselves ready for your first dancing lesson. James, we need to make you look good since Jessiebelle now has those adorable two dresses."

"But it's just practicing, isn't it…?" James asked. "Why do we _need_ to look so good…?"

"It was Jessiebelle's idea", his mother said, smiling friendly at Jessiebelle.

James sighed so quietly that neither his mother nor Jessiebelle heard him. Of course he should have known that Jessiebelle was the one who wanted them to look good regardless of the fact that they were just practicing.

"Well, let's go now then", James's mother said to the children. "Lunch will be served soon."

* * *

After a couple of hours James found himself in the huge hallway of his family's mansion. His parents had made him wear a suit and a neat tie. The servants had done his hair with hair gel and his father had selected cologne for him to use. James didn't particularly like the scent of it but he had no choice but to use it for this occasion. He personally preferred different flowery scents – like the scent of roses – but his parents thought they were too feminine for him. James had insisted that he could put the rose that Jessie had put in his hair yesterday into the breast pocket of his jacket. In his mother's opinion it looked pretty and so James was allowed to keep it there.

The servants had brought a phonograph into the room and James's parents had come there to watch their son and Jessiebelle practicing together. They were sitting on fancy chairs, smiling cheerfully. James gulped, loosening his tie a little. He was standing in the middle of the hallway, watched by his parents and several servants and his two tutors who had together decided to teach him dancing.

Jessiebelle walked down the stairs and everyone's gazes turned to follow her. The girl was smiling while stepping gracefully down the stairs towards James who was waiting for him, feeling extremely nervous. This was like a real prom – almost reminded him of a wedding. James didn't think he looked good enough compared to Jessiebelle who looked absolutely gorgeous in her pink dress. And looking good wasn't even his only concern. He had to _dance_. And impress everyone here.

Jessiebelle was now standing in front of him, smiling happily. James took her gloved hand in his own, kissing it in an elegant way – just as he had been told to do. Jessiebelle nodded to him soberly.

James led the girl to his tutors so that they could advice them if they thought that it would be needed.

One of the tutors gave James a meaningful glance and James immediately knew what he wanted him to do. James placed his right hand on Jessiebelle's waist and took her other hand in his left. He hardly dared to touch her – he was so afraid of doing something wrong. But Jessiebelle, on the other hand, placed her gloved left hand confidently on James's shoulder. James gulped again, feeling the drops of sweat on his forehead.

"Music, please", one of the tutors said to the servants who were standing next to the phonograph.

And then the waltz music started to play.

James froze. He had no idea where to move. He just looked at his shiny black shoes, trying to remember which leg was supposed to step first.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Jessiebelle hissed to him. "Move!"

The girl kicked him in the ankle and he stepped back, trying not to wince. Jessiebelle stepped forward and then back, pulling James forward. And soon James noticed that they were actually dancing. The only problem was just that Jessiebelle was leading although James should have been the one leading her.

"Young Master James, _you _need to lead", James heard one of his tutors immediately advising. Of course his tutors didn't miss anything – it was clear that they would see if James wasn't the one leading. They watched carefully every move he made.

"Please try to listen to the music, Young Master James", the other tutor said to him.

James did his best. He kept staring at his own feet so that he wouldn't get confused with the steps. He soon noticed that dancing wasn't that hard as he had thought it to be.

"Aw, they look so cute together, don't you think?" he heard his mother saying to his father.

"Yes, they do", he heard his father replying. "Though, James should look at his partner more. Not only his own feet."

James raised his gaze up at Jessiebelle's face. He saw the girl staring at the rose in his breast pocket.

"You should take that off, James", she said to him. "The smell is causing me a headache."

"But… It doesn't even smell that strong…" James replied. "It has to be my cologne…" His father had made him put too much of it.

"James, I'm not stupid", Jessiebelle retorted. "Sure I can tell a difference between the scent of rose and the scent of cologne."

James was just about to say that this time Jessiebelle might be mistaken but he couldn't utter a word before Jessiebelle suddenly shrieked in pain. James stepped back in panic. He had lost his focus while they had been discussing and so he had accidentally stepped on Jessiebelle's toes.

"James, you stupid oaf!" she yelled at him. "Ouch, my foot hurts!"

Jessiebelle started to lift up her skirt up to see her feet properly. James's parents ran to her and knelt down to take a closer look at her toes.

"James, you ought to be more careful", his mother told him.

"I'm sorry…" James muttered, looking away, feeling ashamed.

"Young Master James, please come over here for a moment", one of his tutors called him.

James gulped. He glanced at the floor, feeling completely hopeless. He walked slowly to his tutors. He didn't even dare to look at them. He kept staring at the floor.

"Young Master, you should never lose your focus!" the other tutor reproached him. "It appears that it's extremely hard for you to focus on dancing and chatting at the same time."

"But… it was just an accident…" James tried to explain himself. "Sure we can try again…?" He didn't even want to try again but sure there hadn't happen anything so serious that he couldn't fix by simply trying again.

"I don't want to try again!" he heard Jessiebelle shouting furiously. "I don't want to dance with you, James! Not until you can dance properly!"

"Jessiebelle, look… I'm really sorry…" James said quickly, giving the girl and apologetic glance.

Jessiebelle crossed her arms over her chest as a sign of reject. "I can't even walk properly", she said. "It hurts too much."

James moved anxiously. He hadn't meant to hurt Jessiebelle. It had been just a pure accident.

"Let's take you to your room, Jessiebelle", James's father said to the girl. "Put your arm around my neck. I'll help you."

"James, we will talk about this later", James's mother said to him.

After that his parents left with Jessiebelle. The servants started to clean things up. James decided to disappear before his tutors could do anything to stop him.

* * *

He decided to go to the seashore again, partly because he wished that he would meet Jessie there and partly because the shore was a nice, peaceful place. Being there made him feel better, calmed him down. He walked through the garden, meeting Growlie before the gates, deciding to take it with him. Growlie was barking enthusiastically. It was always happy to get to the seashore, out of the garden, although it was big and there were a lot of space for it to run around.

James started to open the big, metal garden gates, speaking to Growlie, trying to tell it to be quiet so that anyone wouldn't hear them leaving. If someone heard, they would have asked where he was going. And he wasn't allowed to go to the seashore. And James was a bad liar. He always got busted.

"Oh, hi James", he heard a familiar voice saying.

James didn't even have to look at the person to find out who had come. He recognized the voice. The voice he had been missing. The person he had been missing. Jessie.

"What are you doing here, Jessie?" he asked curiously.

Jessie, who was standing on the other side of the gates, shrugged a little. "I wanted to meet you. I wanted to ask if you could come out with me today but… I didn't dare to enter the gates alone…" Jessie looked at the big gates, having a respecting expression on her face.

"Our house is much smaller than yours", she said. "We don't even have a garden like this… I might have gotten lost in your garden if I had entered alone."

James chuckled a little. "Get lost?" he repeated. "No… This garden isn't _that_ big…"

"Believe me, James. It is." Jessie was smiling but she meant her words.

James didn't say anything. Perhaps Jessie was right. He started to wonder what kind of house Jessie's home actually was. He looked at Growlie who was sniffing at Jessie. It had quitted barking.

"Can I come in?" Jessie asked, smiling friendly at Growlie.

"Actually… I was just about to go out", James said. "I need some fresh air… I've had a horrible day…"

"Aw, really…?" Jessie asked, tilting her head, having some compassion in her voice. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"If you care to know…" James said, shrugging. "…then I can tell you. But can we please go somewhere place nice?"

"Sure", Jessie replied. "Do you want to go to the seashore? You seem to like that place."

James opened the gates a little, and as a small-sized boy, slid easily out. "Let's go then", he said.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. The Secret Place

**I'm back with another chapter of this story. (: This whole thing was originally supposed to be a one-shot but I happened to come up with more plot and decided to write more chapters... I just couldn't help myself falling in love with James and Jessie. They're so cute together - well, at least in the anime series. And I hope I managed to capture a bit of that sweet atmosphere into this story.**

**Hope you enjoy reading this chapter. (: More will be coming (soon, I hope ;D ). **

**Yours faithfully  
~ CherrySugarCube**

**

* * *

**

On their way to the seashore Jessie noticed that James was having the rose she had given him in his breast pocket. Noticing that made her feel happy. But the things that had happened when they had last met each other had been bothering her ever since. And she wanted James to explain some of them to her.

"So… why has your day been so awful?" she asked James.

James sighed, feeling awkward to even think of the events of today. "Well… We had this dancing lesson with Jessiebelle today…" he said. "And everything went terribly wrong… I can't dance… It was a huge disaster…"

"Oh, that dancing lesson explains that fine outfit of yours", Jessie said, looking at James's neat suit. "But what happened?" she asked him.

James didn't want to tell her. It was too embarrassing. He didn't want Jessie to know what kind of brainless idiot he really was.

"What is it, James…?" Jessie asked, wondering what had happened since James was now feeling so down. "You can tell me. I'm your friend." She smiled encouragingly.

They had come to the shore. James stopped, looking at the sea. _My friend…_ _Really…?_ He hadn't had any real friends before this.

"Do you… mean it…?" he asked Jessie.

"That I'm your friend…?" the girl said. "Yes, of course." She nodded.

James smiled a little. "I want to be your friend, too", he said.

Jessie smiled back at him. "Sure you can be my friend, you silly", she said, chuckling. "Now tell me what happened. It'll make you feel much better if you tell someone."

James thought that Jessie had to be right about that. He decided to tell her. "Well… I was actually doing well before stepping on Jessiebelle's toes…" he said, trying to hide his face, wincing while remembering Jessiebelle's nasty words.

"You stepped on her toes?" Jessie repeated, lifting her eyebrows.

James nodded, feeling awfully ashamed, almost regretting that he had told Jessie. But Jessie's reaction was more than enough to surprise him.

"_Wow_, James! You've finally made it!" Jessie suddenly shouted, hitting James in the back. "That's just awesome! She totally deserved it!"

James froze to stare at Jessie, being confused by her reaction. "You think... You mean… it's a _good_ thing…?" he asked insecurely.

"Definitely!" Jessie replied. "She's been treating you so badly that it was about to time you gave her what she deserved!"

"But… she seemed to get hurt… _badly_…" James said.

"Nah, she was probably faking it anyway…" Jessie said knowledgeably. "Just to make you feel bad about it. Don't you see, James?"

James fell silent. What if Jessie was right and Jessiebelle had really been faking the pain…? Actually, it wouldn't have surprised James a slightest bit, now that he happened to think of it.

"But _I_ do feel bad about it…" he said. "Although it was an accident."

"Aw, don't worry about it, James", Jessie said encouragingly. "She'll get over it."

"I hope you're right…"

"I very often am", Jessie replied, smiling confidently.

James looked at her, thinking. She indeed was… It really had made James feel relieved to tell someone about the terrible dancing lesson. Jessie was amazing! She had known exactly how to make James feel better!

Jessie took a step towards the sea, urging James to follow her. But James took her hand to stop her. Jessie turned around to face his gaze.

"Thank you, Jessie", James said to her.

Jessie blinked her darling-blue eyes in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Thank you… for what?"

"For cheering me up", James replied, giving her a shy smile.

Jessie looked away, putting her free hand in her hair in a rejecting way. "Oh, but I did absolutely nothing", she said.

James kept looking at her. "Still", he said. "You don't even _have_ _to do_ anything. You're just being you. I guess that's enough to cheer me up."

James saw how grateful and flattered Jessie was because of what he had said to her although the girl clearly tried to hide it. She pushed James playfully.

"You big bonehead", she said to him, grinning enthusiastically. "C'mon already."

She ran to the coastline, leaving her shoes on the sand. For a second James froze to listen to his cheerful laughter that filled the silent seashore.

"James, c'mon!" the girl urged him, running into the water, laughing merrily.

James threw his jacket and shoes aside, wrapped the legs of his trousers up to the knees and then ran into the water. Growlie followed right behind him.

"The water is pretty cold, don't you think?" James said to Jessie, his teeth clattering a little.

"Nicely cool, I think", Jessie replied. "Do want to get seriously wet?"

The girl grinned, splashing the water towards James.

James hopped back, saving himself from getting completely wet. His parents would be mad at him if he came home in wet clothes.

"Please don't do that", he said to Jessie. "My parents won't be glad if this suit gets wet."

"Oh, I got it… Sorry", Jessie said, quitting splashing the water. She straightened her posture and asked: "Would you like to see something?"

"Like… what?" James asked.

"It's a surprise", Jessie replied, smiling secretively. "Follow me, I'll show you."

The girl took James's hand and started to lead him along the coastline. Growlie followed them.

"Close your eyes", Jessie said to him. "And no peeking."

James closed his eyes. "Right", he said. "I won't peek."

Now that James couldn't see anything, he soon lost the track of time. He couldn't tell how long exactly they had been walking when Jessie stopped him.

"Are we there yet?" James asked.

"Yep, we're here", the girl replied. "You can open your eyes."

James did so and watched. They were standing in front of a big cave. And the entrance was so near the coastline that they would have to wade in the water to get in.

"I've never noticed this cave before and I've been to this shore many times…" James said.

"I guess you haven't been on this side of the shore", Jessie said. "Many people haven't. I believe that I'm the only one who knows about this place. It's sort of… a secret place of mine.

Though, I haven't actually been _inside_ the cave… It's too dark and wet in there... I never wanted to go there alone."

James looked at the cave, feeling absolutely no desire to go in. He hoped that Jessie hadn't brought him here just to ask if he wanted to go into the cave with her. But when would anything go as James wanted…?

"Would you like to explore what's inside there with me?" Jessie asked, looking excited.

"Huh, me?" James asked, trying not to show that he was afraid of going into the cave.

"Yeah, _you_!" Jessie replied. "Who else?"

"Well… I… I… I'd really like to…" James muttered, gulping. "But I think I'll pass…"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of dark", Jessie teased him. She looked down at Growlie who had followed them here and asked, stroking its fur: "How about you, you good boy?"

Growlie's tail swayed from side to side. It seemed to be excited, as well.

"See, Growlie is coming", Jessie said to James. "Are you?"

James hesitated. At times like this Jessie reminded him awfully lot of Jessiebelle. Though, Jessiebelle wouldn't have had the courage to go inside the cave. She was a coward and always telling James to be brave. But Jessie was different from her. Jessie really was brave. And that was something James liked about her. Jessie was brave and could stand on her own two feet. James admired her strong and determined personality.

"Fine… Let's go…" he finally said. _Before I change my mind_, he added in his mind.

They went into the cave. Growlie went first and then came Jessie and James followed right behind her back, being ready to grip her hand if he got too scared.

It was dark inside the cave but not too dark for them to see a little. The bottom of the cave sloped up gently so that there wasn't any water there after a short moment of walking. Soon they felt dry sand under their bare feet.

"How far do you think this cave will lead us?" James asked Jessie.

"I have no idea", Jessie replied.

"Where do you think it'll lead us?" the boy asked.

"I don't know", Jessie replied.

"What if this cave branches out? What are we going to do then?"

"I don't know if it does!" Jessie snapped. "James, stop asking those questions! I've never been inside this cave before so how could I know? Just be quiet, okay? I'm trying to hear the sound of the waves to know how far we've walked from the entrance."

"Oh… Sorry…" James muttered, falling silent, wanting desperately to turn back. But he was too afraid to go alone.

Jessie had stopped and she was trying to listen. James passed by her, stopping and whispering to Growlie to stop too. The Pokémon stopped and sat down, turning its head towards James. James couldn't see it clearly but he saw its silhouette in front of him. It was awfully quiet in the cave now. It was dark and creepy… In James's opinion it almost felt like they had been in a tomb. Fortunately it didn't smell like a tomb.

Suddenly something slimy and slippery touched the bare skin of James's foot and made him jump up in the air and scream in terror.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

He ran blindly towards something – he couldn't see anything because he had closed his eyes with the hopes of waking up from a bad dream when he would open them. He rammed against something – someone – and screamed even louder.

"James, stop it! It's me, Jessie!" the girl shouted at him and slapped him in the face to make him be quiet.

James fell silent, his head pounding because of Jessie's slap. But he hadn't calmed down. He clung to Jessie's neck as if he had been drowning and Jessie could have saved him. His whole body was shivering rife. He buried his face in Jessie's shoulder, breathing irregularly and holding back tears of panic.

"James, what's with you?" Jessie asked, seeming to be totally confused and also a bit furious because of James's behavior.

Growlie started growling. It clearly wanted to protect James from whatever had scared him.

"James, stop it…" Jessie said to the boy, trying to push him away. But James wouldn't let go. Jessie felt his body shivering.

"James, please", Jessie said in frustration, giving up on pushing him away. Instead of that she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, trying to make him feel comfortable. "James, calm down. Tell me what happened. What scared you?"

"Jessieee…" James sobbed against Jessie's shoulder and Jessie found it hard to catch his mumbling. James tightened his grip of her. "Something yucky touched my foot…" he whined.

Jessie sighed in frustration. She wanted to say to James that he was a pathetic coward but she decided not to. Saying it to him would have insulted him badly and that was something Jessie didn't want to do. Besides, somehow she felt sorry for James who seemed to have almost gotten scared to death. She couldn't really blame him. She, herself, had been afraid of entering the cave alone.

"James, you're just overreacting", she said to him, keeping her voice calm and stable. "Don't be scared. I'm right here. Everything is fine."

Soon she was totally confused to find herself stroking James's hair cautiously. But it seemed to help. Jessie felt how James's body stopped shivering and how he gradually relaxed.

Growlie was still growling, glancing occasionally at James who had hidden his face from everyone.

"Growlie, it's alright", Jessie said to the Pokémon, trying to make it stop growling. "James is alright. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Growlie quitted growling but it kept staring at its master very watchfully.

James had finally pulled himself together. He opened his eyes and let go of Jessie and turned to Growlie.

"Funny… It usually doesn't listen to anyone else but me only", he said, crouching down to stroke Growlie's fur.

Jessie decided not to make any nasty comments about the incident that had happened just a moment ago because she believed that it had to be embarrassing enough for James to bear even without her telling him how cowardly he had acted.

"Um… Maybe we should go back…" she suggested, trying to act like nothing had happened. "I can hardly hear the waves", she said.

James stood up, saying he agreed.

* * *

Outside the cave James could finally breathe normally. He walked into the sea, taking a deep, relieved breath. He had no idea what had touched his foot in the cave. Whatever it had been, it had freaked him out so badly that he felt ashamed of himself.

"James…"

James turned to Jessie. "What is it?" he asked.

Jessie was standing on the sand, hesitating. "Umm… Since we last met I've wanted to ask you…" she began. "Although it's really none of my business…"

"Go ahead, ask whatever you like", James said.

Jessie was still hesitating. But she decided to ask. "Is Jessiebelle _really_ your girlfriend or is she not…?"

James was astonished by the sudden question. He didn't know why it had been bothering Jessie. But since Jessiebelle wasn't James's girlfriend, James wanted to correct the misunderstanding.

"No, she isn't my girlfriend", he said. "She just made it all up back then… It's just that her parents and my parents want us to marry each other when we're adults. But… I don't want to marry her. And I'm definitely not her boyfriend."

Jessie looked at him. It was her turn to look astonished. She didn't expect to hear anything about an arranged marriage. She had just thought that Jessiebelle was a selfish person who wanted to have James on her own and so she had lied about being his girlfriend. But now Jessie didn't know what to say. She felt sorry for James because she believed that arranged marriages were never good marriages. And this seemed to be a perfect example to prove that. James didn't like Jessiebelle and Jessiebelle didn't like James – or perhaps she did but for some very twisted reason. If she had sincerely liked James, she wouldn't have bullied him all the time.

"If only there was a way I could avoid that marriage…" James said. He was staring at his feet and sounded sad. "I don't want to live a life like that… It's not for me…" he said.

"Maybe you really _could _avoid it", Jessie said.

"How?" James asked, raising his gaze up and blinking his green eyes.

Jessie seemed to hesitate a little. "You could run away", she said.

"Run… away…?"

James had never thought of it. But… he _could_ run away and become a Pokémon trainer… He had thought of becoming one but only when he would be older. But perhaps it would be too late then. He was 10 already. Wasn't that just the suitable age for one to become a trainer…?

James looked at Jessie who almost looked like she had been regretting her words.

"You mean… run away with you", James said to her. "Is that it?"

Jessie was hesitating again. She blushed. "I… I'm sorry, James…" she said. "I know your family is very important to you… I shouldn't have suggested anything like – "

"No, no", James hurried to reply. He walked to Jessie and took her hand. "Becoming a Pokémon trainer is my dream. My family would never approve of it. And I don't want to marry Jessiebelle. You're my friend, Jessie. I want to become your partner. Just as we promised, remember?"

Jessie seemed to be relieved. She smiled, and for once, not knowing how to reply.

"I'd be honored to run away with you, Jess", James said to her, giving her a charming smile. He took the rose out of his breast pocket and offered it to her.

Jessie took it, smiling and curtsying quickly. "You almost make me feel like a princess", she said. "But I'm nothing like a princess… Although I've always wanted to be. I guess every girl wants to. Besides wanting to become a Pokémon trainer it's one of my biggest dreams." She smiled shyly as if she had said something silly. "My mom doesn't have much money so I can never wear beautiful clothes and dresses like some girls do…" Jessie was thinking of Jessiebelle who probably had tons of pretty clothes to wear.

James took both of Jessie's hands in his own hands and looked her in the eyes. "Don't be sad, Jessie", he said. "I've never worn any single beautiful dress either."

Jessie stared at James for a couple of seconds and then she burst out laughing. "Oh, James!" she said. "You're just so sweet. I can't help myself liking you."

She wrapped her arms around James's neck and gave him a warm hug. James responded to the hug.

"I'm glad you're my friend, Jess", he said to her.

"Yeah… Just what would you do without me…?" Jessie chuckled.

James sighed, smiling. "Indeed."

* * *

On that day he couldn't really think of anything else but Jessie and becoming a Pokémon trainer with her. When he came home, he tried to sneak in without being seen by anyone. He had said goodbye to Jessie at the gates of the garden and Jessie had headed for her home. They had decided to meet again tomorrow. James was really looking forward to it.

"Young Master James", said the gardener to him.

James thought of pretending that he hadn't heard the gardener but he decided to stop anyway.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Your parents", the gardener said. "They told me to tell you that they wanted to talk to you."

"Where are they?" James asked.

"They are inside", the gardener replied. "They will meet you at the hallway if you give the butler a word that you have arrived."

James sighed and left Growlie with the gardener. He walked into the mansion alone. He tried to sneak into his room but that plan was doomed long before he had come up with it. The butler had been waiting for him in the hallway.

"Young Master!" he said. "We've been waiting for you. Where have you been?"

"Please, just tell my parents I'm home…" James replied wearily. He didn't want to lie to the butler about where he had been.

The butler bowed and left. He soon returned with James's mother and father.

"James, where have you been?" his mother asked.

Not that question again…

"Outside…" James replied, avoiding his parents' gazes.

"But where?" his mother asked again. "You haven't been in the garden. You shouldn't go far from home, James. Just where have you been?"

"Just playing outside with Growlie…" James replied.

"You should have changed your clothes first", his mother said. "You aren't allowed to play when you're wearing your finest suit."

"I know", James replied. "And I'm sorry…"

"And about what happened with Jessiebelle today", his father said.

"I already apologized!" James said. "She is still mad at me, isn't she?"

"She has been asking about you, James", James's mother said. "She wanted to apologize to you, too."

James fell silent. Jessiebelle… wanted to apologize to him…? But that was just impossible.

"Did she say that to you…?" James asked.

"Yes, she did", his parents replied. "She wants to see you."

"Well… where is she?" James asked.

"In her room. She can't walk", his mother said.

James frowned. The girl had to be exaggerating.

"Fine… I'll go there then", he said anyway and left for Jessiebelle's room.

"Remember to knock!" his parents reminded him.

"Of course!" James replied, running upstairs to Jessiebelle's room.

He knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" he heard Jessiebelle's voice asking.

"It's me, James."

"Oh, James! Finally! Come on in."

James opened the door and walked in. Jessiebelle was lying on her bed, looking at him.

"It's been so boring to be here all alone!" she huffed to him. "It was about time you showed up!"

James didn't know what to say. Jessiebelle didn't seem like she wanted to apologize to him.

"James, come over here", the girl said to him, rising up to sitting position, tapping the bedding next to her.

James walked to her and sat down with her.

"Where have you been?" the girl asked him.

James sighed. "Outside", he replied numbly.

"With whom?" Jessiebelle asked.

"Growlie."

"Aw, c'mon James", Jessiebelle said impatiently. "That Pokémon isn't that interesting that you'd spend a whole day with it. I bet you were with that girl. Jessie is her name, right?"

"No, I wasn't with Jessie", James lied quickly.

"Yes, you were", Jessiebelle said. "James, you're such a bad liar. Do you think I'm an idiot? Sure I know you were with her."

James sighed. "Fine… I was with her", he admitted. "What about it…?"

"Nothing", Jessiebelle replied. "I'm just saying she has a bad influence on you. You don't even know her. She's arrogant and aggressive. Not nice at all."

To James it sounded like Jessiebelle had been talking about herself. In his opinion Jessie wasn't arrogant but proud she was… And she wasn't particularly aggressive… Temperamental and impulsive, more likely.

"I think she's nice", James said more to himself than to Jessiebelle.

Jessiebelle pouted her nose and crossed her arms, seeming to be sulking. Then her face brightened up and she threw her arms to the sides. "James!" she said enthusiastically. "I've got an idea!"

James tried to hide his non-enthusiasm. He didn't particularly like Jessiebelle's ideas.

"Why don't you bring Jessie here?" the redhead asked.

"Here?" James repeated sounding like it had been completely impossible for him to imagine that to happen. "But I thought you don't even like her…" he said.

"Perhaps we could try to get along since you seem to like her so much", Jessiebelle said.

James had a bad feeling about this but he decided to give it a go. "Well… How about tomorrow?" he suggested. "Tomorrow we were supposed to meet with Jessie anyway."

"Tomorrow is fine", Jessiebelle replied. "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
